Dental dams are known in the art and have been used to isolate one or more teeth for treatment by a dental practitioner during root canal surgery or other procedures where it is desired to isolate and seal one or more teeth from the gingiva and dental cavity. Conventional dental dams typically comprise a thin sheet of rubber, or similar material, having one or more apertures for receiving one or more teeth therethrough while other teeth and the remaining dental anatomy are protected beneath the dam. After the apertures have been positioned over the desired teeth, the dam is generally stretched and secured to a frame. One or more dam clamps may be placed over the exposed teeth to prevent the dam from being pulled off the teeth as the dam is stretched and secured to the frame.
One drawback of prior dental dam clamps is the tendency for the clamps to slip off of the teeth while the dam is being stretched and secured to the frame, or worse, during a dental procedure. This tendency to slip off the teeth is often exasperated by non-uniform clamping between the teeth and the contact surfaces of the clamp.
When dental clamps are applied to molar teeth at the rear of the oral cavity, forceps or similar tools are generally used to position the clamps at the appropriate location. Another drawback of prior dental dam clamps is that the clamps often slip off or shift on the forceps, making precise placement difficult.
Yet another drawback of prior dental clamps, particularly metal clamps having sharp or pointed teeth for engaging the teeth, is the tendency to cause iatrogenic damage to the surfaces of the teeth. A need therefore exists for an improved dental dam clamp that overcomes these and other drawbacks of the prior art.